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Considerations and Comments

For purposes of this
exercise, we will be working with the Warehouse cube, within the FoodMart
2000 MSAS database; these working samples accompany a typical installation
of Analysis Services. If the samples are not installed in, or have been
removed from, your environment, they can be obtained from the installation CD,
from the Analysis Services section of the Microsoft website, and perhaps
elsewhere.

To prepare, we will
create a copy of the original Warehouse cube, to preserve the original
in its current state, as well as to allow access to the original cube in the
meantime from enterprise users.

Hands-On Procedure

Preparation

Create
a Copy Cube

Let's get started by
creating a copy of the Warehouse sample cube, which, along with the FoodMart
database that contains it, accompanies an Analysis Services
installation. This will allow us to keep the original sample cube intact for
other uses.

1.
Open Analysis
Manager, beginning at the Start menu.

2.
Expand the Analysis
Servers folder by clicking the "+" sign to its immediate
left.

Our
server(s) appear.

3.
Expand the
desired server.

Our
database(s) appear,
in much the same manner as shown in Illustration 2.

Illustration 2: Example
Databases Displayed within Analysis Manager

4.
Expand the FoodMart
2000 database.

5.
Expand the Cubes
folder.

The
sample cubes appear,
as shown in Illustration 3.

Illustration 3: The
Sample Cubes in the FoodMart 2000 Database

NOTE: Your databases / cube tree will differ, depending upon
the activities you have performed since the installation of MSAS (and the simultaneous
creation of the original set of sample cubes). Should you want or need to
restore the cubes to their original state, simply restore the database under
consideration. For instructions, see the MSSQL Server 2000 Books Online.

6.
Right-click on
the Warehouse sample cube.

Again, we
are making a copy of the Warehouse cube, because our lesson will involve
making changes to the cube we use within the practice example. As we have
noted, working with the copy will allow us to maintain our existing sample cube
in its current condition, and available to other users.

7.
Select Copy
from the context menu that appears.

8.
Right-click on
the Cubes folder.

9.
Select Paste
from the context menu that appears.

The Duplicate
Name dialog appears.

As noted
in previous articles, we cannot have two cubes of the same name in a given MSAS
database.

10.
Type the
following into the Name box of the Duplicate Name dialog:

Crosstab Reporting

The Duplicate
Name dialog appears, with our modification, as depicted in Illustration 4.

Illustration 4: The
Duplicate Name Dialog, with New Name

TIP: As I have mentioned elsewhere in
this and other series, the foregoing is also an excellent way of renaming
a cube (a "rename" capability is not available here, as it is in
many Windows applications). Simply create a duplicate, give it the name to
which you wish to rename the old cube, and then delete the old cube, as appropriate.
This also works for Analysis Services databases, dimensions and other
objects.

11.
Click OK
to apply the name change.

The new
cube, Crosstab Reporting, appears in the cube tree, among those already
in place, as shown in Illustration 5.

Illustration 5: The New
Cube Appears in the Cube Tree

We now
have a copy of the Warehouse cube, within which we can perform the steps
of our practice exercise. Let's process the new cube to "register"
it with Analysis Services, and to ensure that we are all in a "processed" state.